Stop Chasing the School Belle, My Shy Deskmate is Sweet and Soft - Chapter 1

“Boss, we’ve found the person who donated the cornea to you back then. Here’s her information.”

Xia Tian stood by the 35th-floor window, nodding slightly.

His secretary quietly exited the room.

A month ago, his company successfully went public on the U.S. stock exchange, reaching a market value of 30 billion yuan.

He had become one of the country’s richest men.

Three years ago, Xia Tian had started with nothing and launched his own business.

The intense, continuous workload caused his eyes to strain, leading to a retinal detachment.

He hit rock bottom in his life.

At that time, without money or power, all he could do was wait quietly for a cornea match.

Just when he was on the verge of despair, the hospital delivered unexpected news.

Someone had donated their cornea free of charge, and it was this pair of corneas that gave him back his sight and allowed him to continue pursuing his entrepreneurial dreams.

For three years, Xia Tian had been searching for the anonymous donor, but his efforts yielded nothing.

That morning, his secretary finally uncovered the identity of the donor from all those years ago.

Xia Tian took a deep breath and opened the file the secretary delivered.

Inside was a donor information form and an old diary.

“Ye Ningyu? Isn’t that… my deskmate from senior year?”

Xia Tian frowned slightly, putting down the information sheet and slowly flipping open the pink, worn diary.

—

September 1, 2012, Sunny.

Today is my first day at my new school. My new deskmate, Xia Tian, looks kind of scary. I think he likes the class monitor.

—

September 30, Sunny.

Xia Tian is such a good guy. I really want to thank him for helping me shoo away that bad guy last time. But today he got rejected by the class monitor again. He doesn’t seem to be in a good mood!

—

December 24, Snowing.

My period started today, and my stomach hurt so much. Xia Tian braved the heavy snow to buy me pads.

Oh no, I think I might like him!! (w) …

No, no, no! I can’t fall in love early! There are only 165 days left until the college entrance exam. I need to focus on studying!

—

June 27, 2013, Sunny.

I did pretty well on the exam. I hope Xia Tian and I can go to the same university!

But it seems like Xia Tian didn’t do so well… I really want to comfort him, but he doesn’t want to see me.

—

December 11, Sunny.

Sigh! Xia Tian knows that the class monitor doesn’t like him, but he’s still so stubborn.

—

July 3, 2020, Heavy Rain.

Xia Tian… is he going to lose his sight?

—

July 9, Sunny.

Cancer? I kind of expected it, but still, I don’t want to die. I don’t want to be shut inside a small, dark box…

But it’s okay. This way, Xia Tian will have my corneas to use!

—

“I always thought that one day I could catch up to you. But I walked too slowly, and never managed to catch up. You never once turned around to look at me.”

“The moon is bright, but its brightness is useless, yet it still shines. I like you, even though it’s pointless, but I still like you.”

“Goodbye, Xia Tian! Perhaps meeting you used up all my luck.”

—

“You fool, you fool! Ye Ningyu, you’re the biggest fool!”

The diary wasn’t thick, but it took Xia Tian the entire afternoon to finish reading it. By the end, he was sobbing uncontrollably.

It turned out that shortly after his eye condition occurred three years ago, Ye Ningyu had been diagnosed with lung cancer.

Before she died, she donated her corneas to him.

As Xia Tian’s memories raced, a blurry image of Ye Ningyu began to emerge.

She always liked to pull her collar up high to cover her face. Very few people ever saw what she truly looked like.

In front of others, she wouldn’t even lift her head, speaking in a soft voice with an especially gentle demeanor.

After graduation, Xia Tian had run into her a few times at the university where the girl he was chasing attended.

It was only then that Xia Tian noticed that beneath her mask was an incredibly delicate face.

But at that time, he was still busy playing the lovesick fool for Xu Yuan, the girl he was chasing, and after being briefly impressed by Ye Ningyu’s beauty, he didn’t think much of it.

In his youth, his eyes were filled only with Xu Yuan, the school belle.

Later, after being rejected by Xu Yuan multiple times, she ended up with a rich kid.

It was only then that Xia Tian truly woke up.

Afterward, he hardened his heart like concrete, focusing only on making money!

He had never once truly paid attention to the girl who silently liked him from afar…

How blind had he been back then, to not realize that this girl had liked him?

All this time, Ye Ningyu had loved him for her entire youth!

But now it was too late!

—

Gulp, gulp!

Xia Tian grabbed a bottle of white liquor from the cabinet and downed four bottles in quick succession, numbing his agonizing heart.

Before long, the alcohol hit him, and he collapsed onto the table, losing consciousness entirely.

In a daze.

Xia Tian seemed to see a girl standing in front of him, wearing a white dress, her hair in a ponytail, her lips a soft red, and her eyes gentle and clear.

She smiled softly, her lips parting slightly.

“Xia Tian, I like you.”

—

“Oh boy, is Xia Tian going to confess to the class monitor again?”

“Of course! Look at him with a bouquet of roses and a love letter. No doubt, he’s going to confess to Xu Yuan.”

Xia Tian felt a little dizzy, accompanied by the sound of cicadas only heard in summer.

He thought it was just the liquor.

When he slowly opened his eyes, he found himself standing at the front of the classroom, holding a large bouquet of tulips.

In his right hand, he clutched a love letter.

On the back wall of the classroom was a big countdown clock for the college entrance exam.

“Days until the college entrance exam: 99!”

In front of him were rows of youthful, innocent faces.

“Did I… get reborn?”

He slowly raised his head, a feeling of disorientation washing over him.

Everything was so familiar.

He had been reborn to 2013, with 99 days left until the college entrance exam.

In his previous life, on this very day, he’d bought Xu Yuan’s favorite tulips and stayed up all night writing a love letter.

He had confessed to her in front of the whole class during lunch break.

And unsurprisingly, he was rejected again.

Xu Yuan’s reason was: she didn’t want to date while studying, as it would affect her academics.

But after they entered university, Xia Tian confessed to her again, and Xu Yuan used the same excuse to reject him.

“Just started university, it’s a bit rushed.”

“Oh, I didn’t expect sophomore year to be so busy. Maybe in junior year we can try…”

“Senior year! I’ll definitely be your girlfriend in senior year!”

Until one rainy night in his senior year…

Xia Tian had seen her get into a Maybach with his own eyes. Only then did he truly wake up.

The places his deep affection couldn’t reach had long been entered by someone driving a Maybach…

—

“Xu Yuan, come here! You’re the star today!”

High school students were great at hyping things up, and everyone assumed Xia Tian was going to confess again, so Xu Yuan was already pushed in front of him by a few girls.

However, Xia Tian’s attention wasn’t on Xu Yuan at all.

His eyes anxiously scanned the room, searching for the silhouette he longed for.

Sure enough.

Ye Ningyu was sitting in a corner of the classroom, biting her lip slightly, looking somewhat dejected in Xia Tian’s direction.

When their eyes met, she hurriedly lowered her head in panic, her small face turning down as she scribbled aimlessly in her notebook.

Seeing this, Xia Tian felt a pang in his chest.

—

“Xia Tian, what are you waiting for? Hurry up and give Xu Yuan the flowers!”

Suddenly, Xu Yuan’s best friend, Chen Jiayi, interrupted Xia Tian’s thoughts.

He snapped back to the present and looked down.

There, standing before him, was Xu Yuan—the girl he had liked for his entire school life.

Although Xu Yuan didn’t wear makeup yet, her tall figure, delicate features, and waist-length hair gave her an air of elegance.

Wherever she stood, she was the focus of attention, always the most beautiful person in the room.

Unless Ye Ningyu was there.

—

“Hurry up and confess! The lunch break will be over soon. If the teacher comes, everything you’ve prepared will go to waste!”

Chen Jiayi urged again, her words making Xu Yuan blush a little and playfully scold her.

“Oh Jiayi, what are you talking about!”

Xu Yuan had no intention of accepting Xia Tian’s confession, she was just enjoying the attention.

Xu Yuan slowly lifted her head, smiled at Xia Tian, and extended her hand.

“Xia Tian, I’ll take the flowers as encouragement to study harder. But you should keep the letter. I already told you before…”

Just as she was about to take the flowers, Xia Tian pulled them back.

With a slightly strange expression, he looked at Xu Yuan.

“Class monitor, what are you doing? These flowers are for the teacher. I was planning to give them to him after class.”

“Oh… did you think they were for you, and that I was going to confess? You thought wrong.”

Suddenly, the classroom fell into an awkward silence.

Xu Yuan’s outstretched hand froze in mid-air, and the shy smile on her face stiffened, turning into sheer embarrassment…